The Shenzhen Municipal Trade Union has demanded that IBM reinstate the 20 workers [2] representatives sacked during the ten-day strike at the IBM ISTC factory which ended 12 March. Thus far however the company has refused and the union is now considering legal action.

“We strongly demanded that IBM rescind the decision and reinstate the workers but the company refused,” said Li Ying, director at the union’s legal department. “We will resolve the issue through the legal process.”

The Southern Metropolis Daily reported Thursday that the union had sent lawyers to provide legal assistance to the fired workers and help them file for arbitration, a mandatory first step in the legal process for labour disputes in China.

While almost all the strikers have now signed some kind of compensation agreement, the 20 sacked workers’ representatives have been left in the lurch. “I have worked here for ten and a half years and now I am fired for being an ‘agitator’. This is not right.” said Wen Yong, one of the sacked representatives.

The Southern Metropolis Daily said that some workers with fewer years of service chose to stay and get transaction compensation of 30,000 yuan, while some veterans chose to leave IBM for good and get to be paid more.